Casey Anthony trial: Some people just can't get enough

Mel and Sharon Gilbert, a retired Orlando couple, sat at Graffiti Junktion in Orlando's College Park Thursday enjoying their lunch while watching the Casey Anthony case unfolding live on a large flat screen above their table.

"We've got it recording at home, but still wanted to watch it live during lunch," 66-year-old Mel Gilbert said. "We've been interested in this case for years and love to watch the lawyers and witness testimony."

Across Central Florida, more and more people like the Gilberts are finding themselves riveted by the testimony and wanting to watch every moment of it. So they line up to try and score one of the dozens of public passes for a seat inside the courtroom, they watch on television screens at restaurants or salons, catch live digital streams in the office or follow Twitter feeds on their mobile devices.

"I can't get anything done at work because I keep checking Twitter on my iPhone, but I don't spread that around," joked Jason Goren, a receptionist at a Fashion Square Mall hair salon. "I'm not the only one either. All the customers talk about is Casey, Casey, Casey!"

Officials at the Orange County Courthouse said the number of people lining up before dawn each day has ebbed and flowed since opening statements began on May 24.

"I think the amount of spectators in line depends on who they think will provide testimony that day," said court spokeswoman Karen Levey. "The day Cindy Anthony returned to the stand was the highest number of people we had waiting in line."

More than 200 people stood outside the courthouse on Tuesday – when Cindy Anthony continued her testimony, Levey said. She remembered receiving calls from the public around 1 a.m. that day, hoping for pointers on scoring tickets.

"It's unbelievable to me," Levey said.

On Thursday, all 51 people who waited in line got passes to the watch it live.

Tony Silva of Orlando and his friends were the first three in line because they had waited since midnight.

"I wanted a front row seat to see justice served," said 29-year-old Silva, whose mother piqued his interest in the case. "It's so obvious [Casey Anthony] did it."

More interest among women

The dysfunctional, emotionally-charged relationships between Casey Anthony; her daughter, Caylee Marie, and her mother Cindy are not lost on women — who are showing more interest in the case than men.

On Thursday, there was more than double the number of women than men waiting in line outside the courthouse for a chance at a seat in Courtroom 23.

"This is about a mother who possibly killed her child," said 32-year-old Jennifer Miller-Carmon. "It's something very emotional to a woman. Men would rather be watching a hockey or basketball game."

Michelle Mamagona's interest in the case goes beyond her fascination with criminal justice. She said the contrast of emotions between mother and daughter are telling.

"It felt to me that Cindy Anthony showed much more attention and emotion about her granddaughter than Casey Anthony did about her own daughter," the 37-year-old Mamagona said. "I really want to hear the truth about why she did not report the disappearance sooner."

Case beyond the courtroom

Paul Johnson of Ragazzi's Pizza & Restaurant in Orlando's College Park said employees at the eatery often switch the flat screen televisions from sports channels to local news channels to watch the latest in the case.

"They're interested in it, but I turn it off," Johnson said while checking the register at the restaurant's bar. "It's too much for me. I have kids."

Barbers at Kennedy's All-American Barber Club in Thornton Park were watching testimony Thursday. They said customers often ask them to switch on the case because they like to watch it while getting a shave or trim.

At Graffiti Junktion, manager Shawn Lane said his customers seemed more interested in the case at the beginning, and now that's starting to wane a little.

"A lot of my customers were asking us to turn up the volume so they could listen in, but I think there's less demand for it now," Lane said.

But just 30 minutes after Lane said that, the Gilberts sat down at one of the burger joint's inside picnic tables and asked the server to switch on the closed captioning so they could read the testimony of prosecution witness, Orange County Sheriff's Office lead investigator, Yuri Melich.

"I can't believe it. [Casey Anthony] is one great liar," said 66-year-old Sharon Gilbert, who has been following the case for years. "As a mother, it's hard to watch because I just cannot understand how she can sit there and not crumble…I think the grandmother lost her two girls."